The Hope Hotline - The Hope Hotline | S01-E04 | 01-27-23

Episode Date: January 27, 2023

Question #1Can you discuss the ways to speak to God? Does it always have to be through prayer and closed out in the name of Jesus? Can you just talk to him? Does it need to be out loud or can you speak to him silently?Question #2I have been watching, learning, and studying since I found Foundation Church during the pandemic. This is so different from the way I was raised as a 7th Day Adventist. My grandfather was a minister. I fell away from the church in my high school years. I’ve always believed, I just felt it was not always right what they taught. I felt called to Foundation Church even though I don’t live in Florida. I watch podcasts and Sunday Church. I wanted to find a church like Foundation in my area. After some research I found one similar and have started attending. I have not yet received the ability to speak in tongues, but I believe it will come. My mother who was raised 7th Day Adventist says that it is of the devil to speak in tongues because that is what they are taught. How can I explain or help her to understand speaking in tongues is not of the Devil?Question #3I sing in a 70’s and 80’s classic rock band. I am torn as to whether I should quit it or not? I am not sure who that is viewed by our God. I do make money in the band, and I do tithe off of that money as well as my full-time day job. How can I know if I should quit? I have asked God to lead me to that decision, but nothing has transpired for me yet.

Thank you for tuning in to the HOPE Hotline. My name is HOPE and this is a podcast where you ask the questions and I give the answers. Most of them will be from a biblical perspective and then some of them will just be my opinion, which I love to give my opinion because I think I'm right all the time. My husband does not, but I do. So let's get to our first question. It says, can you discuss the ways to speak to God? Does it always have to be through prayer and closed out in the name of Jesus? Can you just talk to him? Does it need to be out loud or can you speak to him silently? That's a lot of questions

and one foul swoop. So let's do the first one. Can you discuss the ways to speak to God? There are many ways to speak to God. One, obviously through prayer, where you close your eyes and you go to your quiet place, which is what Jesus said to do in the Lord's Prayer. Then there is, I do this all the time, I speak to God just like a friend. I constantly talk to him like I would if my best friend is in the time. I speak to God just like a friend. I constantly talk to him like I would if my best friend is in the room. And we were just having a conversation. Many, many times I'm having a conversation with God. And sometimes I forget that if I tell somebody that I feel like I should do something and I feel like I should do it this way. Sometimes I'll be like,

is that me feeling like that? Or was that the Holy Spirit just giving me guidance in that? Because I talk so much to God throughout the day that sometimes I don't know if it was my gut or if it was the Holy Spirit. So talk to him just like he is your friend, because he is. He's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. The other way is through speaking in your prayer language. There's two different kinds of tongues. One is tongues for the congregation and then tongues in your prayer language. We'll get into that a little bit deeper. So for me, there's three strong ways praying in your prayer closet.

One, just having a conversation with the Lord throughout the day, which is also in scripture, and then praying in your prayer language. All three, super important. There are probably people who are watching this right now. You agree with the first two, but the last one, you're like, eh, not for me. But hopefully, after we're done talking maybe your heart and mind might be open to it a little bit more or um you're you say well you just proved the case and uh i will i'm going to give it a shot so let's look at um the next

one question is does it always have to be through prayer and closed out in the name of Jesus? No. I don't close everything out in the name of Jesus, especially if I'm having a conversation throughout my day with God or the Holy Spirit. I don't ever close out anything with the name of Jesus. I never just close the conversation, to be perfectly honest with you.

I don't, unless I'm hanging out with my best friend and we decide to go two separate ways, I don't say goodbye until it's time to leave. So normally it says in the word that he never leaves us nor forsakes us. So for me, I don't really say goodbye because he never leaves and I never leave him. So the conversation never ends in that regard. The times I do close out with it in the name of Jesus is when I'm praying for somebody specifically, or I'm praying over something specifically. If it's a miracle or healing, a financial need, something of that nature,

I do close it out in the name of Jesus because his name has power. It has dominion over whatever's trying to stop or thwart the plan. So in those cases, I do close out in the name of Jesus every time. But for the most part, I don't. I don't close out a lot of prayer in the name of Jesus. Can you just talk to him? Just like I said, yep.

I talk to him all the time, just like I do my best friend. Constant conversation. Does it need to be out loud, or can you speak to him silently? So I do both. Because if I do silently, sometimes if I'm in a room with a lot of people. If I started talking to the Holy Spirit, they might think I'm completely nuts. And I am a little crazy, so that might not go too far. But in general, I do speak to the Holy Spirit silently in prayer.

But the Lord's Prayer is very clear for us to speak out loud. He says, when you say or when you speak, and we'll talk about the Lord's Prayer, but he clearly says for you to say things and to speak them when you're praying it. So out loud, absolutely. Especially when you're praying over something and you're trying to convince yourself, remove doubt and unbelief in the equation, speaking it out loud. Sometimes I've heard pastors say, and I have done this, where they're trying to convince themselves of what they're believing in and standing on it.

They will even yell it so that it's very clear that they mean what they say so that it not only it penetrates their heart and their mind and it's very loud to them so that they hear what they're actually saying instead of just saying it so you don't have to yell but i mean i have i've yelled in in my prayer time just so i am very clear and very determined about what I'm saying and what I'm standing on. Matthew 5-15 is called the model prayer. And that's what I was just talking about. Jesus said, when you pray, pray this. And that's where you would want to take scripture and apply it.

And you pray like this. And so I would take Matthew 6, 5 through 15, and I would actually use that for yourself and to model that prayer. That's the Lord's Prayer, and that's where it is on earth as it is in heaven. So whatever you're praying, make sure that if it's healing you're praying over, well, there is no sickness or disease in heaven. So healing is for today, and there's other scriptures. It says in that prayer to forgive those who have trespassed against you.

Forgiveness is not an option. It is a mandate. You are to forgive those. You are to forgive those. You are to forgive people. So you follow that prayer, and it's a great guideline for you, if you don't know how to pray. And then if you're a new believer, that might be the prayer you want to start with,

and then you go off from that, and you expound from there, in your Christian walk. In 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 through 18, it says, pray without ceasing. Some people go, well, how in the world do you do that? I work all day. You know, I work eight to ten hours a day. I come home. I work at home because I have children. So I'm never by myself. Pray without ceasing. How do you do that? Well, I would say to you, you use your imagination to have conversations in your head about people who've just irritated you or you've gotten in an argument with somebody and you sit there and you argue in your head of what you're going to say the next time you see them, if

you see them. So you can pray. Instead of having conversations in your head about different things that might not or might happen. Use that time to spend time in prayer and having a conversation with the Lord versus or the Holy Spirit versus having that conversation in your head with somebody that's imaginary anyway that you're not really conversating with. is having that conversation in your head with somebody that's imaginary anyway that you're not really conversating with.

It's a better use of your time. The less that you do the worldly way of philosophy, the more spiritually minded you'll become. For example, if you are mad at somebody and you are frustrated and you're talking to them in your head, and instead of that you were to pray, what happens is any anger, animosity, anything that's towards that person will cease to exist

because you've now made your mind up to go a spiritual route versus a worldly route. Imagination is not good. It's very clear that we are to steer clear of it unless it's of something that is spiritual. So unless you are having a spiritual thought and don't go to the carnal. Stay away from it. Just keep yourself spiritually minded, and you'll do far better. And the only way to really do that is to make sure that you're praying.

Pray without ceasing. Ephesians 6, 18 says, pray in the Spirit. How do you do that? There you go. That's what we were talking about in tongues. How do you pray in the Spirit? I would argue with somebody who says that tongues aren't for today or I don't believe in tongues. Well, my question to you is how do you do Ephesians 6.18 then?

How do you pray in the Spirit? If you don't believe in tongues, then how are you praying in the Spirit? What is your route to that um the odds are that you don't pray in the spirit because there's no there's no other way to explain it um i'm going to give you um some scripture it says praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit supplication tom my husband pre my husband preaches on this all the time. What does supplication mean? Repetitive, over and over and over again.

Pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. There's that word again. If you don't get the result that you're looking for, supplicate. Pray in the spirit and supplicate. there's something about praying in the spirit when you pray in the spirit in your own prayer language in your own tongue it says that the devil doesn't understand that and on top of that the spirit knows better your the holy spirit knows better what to pray for you than you know to pray for yourself so i would say um when you pray in your prayer language the holy spirit is praying

on your behalf and he is actually um speaking on your behalf and explaining better what you need than what you know you need yourself. I'll be honest with you. I probably pray in my prayer language more than I pray in English. I get far better results with that. I feel at peace with that. And it's become pretty much a habit for me. It's kind of like my lifeline. And so if you don't have your prayer links, see for me in English, I run out of words. I don't have, I mean, I have a lot of words, but I don't have sometimes the right words to express what I'm trying to convey. So I pray in my prayer language all the time.

I never run out when I do that. Versus when I try and speak it in English. I do speak things in English. I do pray with my words. But it's way easier to pray in the Spirit. So that same scripture verse that we just read in the Amplified is so much better. It says, with all prayer and petition, pray with specific requests. And that's the thing. A lot of times we don't see the results that we're looking for because we're not specific in our prayer.

We are told to be specific. If you look in Leviticus, the rules that God laid out, he's very specific in the law. When you look at how the ark was to be built, it was very specific in how he gave his instruction. If you look at how the temple was to be built, when Solomon built the temple, it was very specific about how the temple was to be built. God is very specific. And when we pray, we should be very specific so that our petitions are made well

and it's known and it's clear. I think sometimes it's for us so that we understand what we're asking for. We understand our situation and it's very clear. I think you can eliminate a lot of doubt and unbelief when you're very specific in your prayer. Your words are powerful, and they actually, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

So when you hear your words, you actually can understand whether or not, in specificity, whether or not what you're believing for is doubt and unbelief, or actually you know you can speak the word over it with being specific. I think a lot of times when we pray, we aren't using the word. When the devil came to Jesus, what did he do? He used the word against Jesus and Jesus, but he twisted it it and then what Jesus did is he used the word against the devil but with with preciseness with accuracy and what did the devil do he had to go he had to flee because he's a counterfeit he doesn't he doesn't know the word and he he plays on that

with us so use the word against use the word when you're praying. It says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. So your faith will increase as you use the word in your prayer, but also be specific in your prayer with the word as well. It says, with all prayer and petition, pray with specific requests at all times, on every occasion, in every season. So always. In the Spirit. So you're to pray in the Spirit.

This is Ephesians. This is what Paul was telling people to do. This is when he was talking to the people of Ephesus. This is what he specifically told them to do. And with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition, interceding in prayer for all god's people so when you're to pray you're to pray for yourself but you're to pray for others in the spirit though super important so speaking in tongues is very very important it's so funny

to me that people don't believe in tongues. I didn't believe in tongues. I grew up in a Pentecostal church. I grew up in a Pentecostal church, but I grew up in a Pentecostal home. Speaking tongues was taught. It was allowed. I didn't really believe in it, to be honest with you. I didn't really want it either because i was scared of it i didn't know how it all played out i didn't know like does something come over and take over your tongue and

or does something possess you or whatever you would think growing up in a pentecostal home that you would i would know better than that but i didn't um because you're you let your imagination think things that are just not accurate about it. Even though your parents tell you, it's one thing for somebody to tell you and then it's another thing for you to experience it. But I would strongly encourage you, if you do not believe in tongues,

to be open to it, to study it out. Go to the book of Acts. Acts is very clear and people will say well it's dead it was for that time but i'm going to show you a scripture where that's just not true that's not accurate at all um and if you're willing to open your mind up to it not being true some people are just so dogmatic. Some people are so stubborn. And stubborn is the sin of witchcraft. Don't be so stubborn that you're not willing to hear another side of something

so that your walk with God expounds and expands. Because being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, it will drastically change your life. It creates a boldness in you that is like none other. I've seen people who are Baptist who went and did not believe in tongues at all, got filled with tongues, and it radically changed their life. They went from not believing it at all, it actually happening to them, which was somewhat of a shock to them,

and then them radically being changed in their Christian walk. My husband, Tom, former Catholic, well, I mean, I say former, he was born in a Catholic home, knew nothing about tongues, went, got saved at an Assembly of God church here in town. The next night, the pastor says, who wants more of God?

And he was like, heck yeah, I want more of God. He had no idea what that meant when that happened. He just wanted more of God. Went to the altar, hands were laid on him. He could, he went, he was like 298 pounds at this time he was huge because he played college football huge guy um could barely stand didn't know why he could barely stand so people who do not believe in um falling out or being uh falling in the spirit he knew nothing he he was catholic he didn't know about falling in the spirit. He knew nothing. He was Catholic.

He didn't know about falling in the spirit. He could barely stand, didn't understand why he could barely stand, had to grab hold of some people because he didn't want to fall. Then began to speak in tongues. Like he even said at that time, he said, if I knew about tongues,

I might have made my mind not understand it, and just totally said, no, that's not for me. But because the Holy Spirit was so sweet, and just basically filled him without him being intimidated by it, he was able to be touched by the Holy Spirit and where he couldn't stand. It was such a sweet time for him. And then he was filled with the speaking, with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Radically, radically changed his life. Up to that time,

he thought when people were speaking in tongues, he didn't know they were speaking Spanish. This is a guy who had taken Spanish all the way up to Spanish four you think I don't know you think you might know what Spanish sounds like after you've taken Spanish four years I don't know but for some reason evidently he cheated his way through Spanish class or something because he didn't even understand that they were speaking not in Spanish, but they were speaking in tongues. Little dingy, not that bright of a light bulb sometimes, I guess. I don't know, but I think that's pretty funny. So if you study Acts out, then that'll show you and that'll tell you what happened on the night of Pentecost.

It will take you all the way through where tongues are for today. Then Paul in his different books talks about it as well. And that will help you to understand that Paul did it. He wasn't there on the night of Pentecost, and he still spoke in tongues well after that had happened. So people who say it's not for today, they're inaccurate. But I will go into that with Scripture as well. So Paul said in 1 Corinthians, when he was talking to the people of Corinth,

he was talking to believers at this time. 1418 says, I thank God that I speak in unknown tongues more than all of you so he is saying that he speaks in tongues more than the people of Corinth and that he does it more than them so basically he's saying that he does it and they don't do it as much for me that's a challenge to say and i don't think he was challenging them he was basically saying i speak in tongues more than you guys do he that means he has a close relationship to the holy spirit um very one-on-one one this was well after the Pentecost when he said this and there's benefits to it and so what that's one of the things I was talking to you about the

the boldness that you get from speaking in tongues I think it's truly important that if you are filled with the Holy Spirit that your children see you speaking in tongues they need to be taught this. They need to be encouraged to receive it. I've known children that have been filled with the Holy Spirit at a very young age, as young as five. They were not coerced or coached. I know I've gone to churches where people are filled at the altars and then the pastor tells them what to pray in tongues. You don't need that. I don't even know if I necessarily believe

that people are filled with tongues if you're being told what to say. I think the heart behind it is very sweet and I think it's got good intentions, but I don't think that someone needs to be coached how to be filled with tongues. I think that you need to, if somebody is curious or if they're trying to see if they understand the process

or if they understand whether or not they've been filled, like people have come to me and said, I feel like I know I've been filled with tongues, but I don't know for sure. And then they begin to tell you about what their situation is. You can absolutely say yes or no. Yeah, you were filled with tongues. Or no, that's not what it is.

You need to keep seeking, things like that. But children need to see you speaking in tongues. I remember Tom used to go in his office at the house, and when he would be praying in the spirit um the kids would hear him i remember one time tommy going in and tom was praying in in tongues and tommy came out and he's like i don't know what he's saying in there i think he's speaking spanish or something your kids won't know it necessarily he was very young but he actually saw it so when it came time for him to understand it was a conversation that was very easy to have and it wasn't scary for them to hear it wasn't intimidating for them

to hear if your child goes from all of a sudden and never seeing you do it to seeing you do it at an older age like what the heck that should be something that is seen in the home. It should be something that is as common as you praying, so that they learn to pray. You want them to learn to pray what good prayer looks like, but you also want them to know what speaking in tongues looks like. You want them to desire that, to know that it's normal. It's something that's just common in a Christian life. So very important for your children to see it and to experience it so that they won't see, that they won't find it to be strange or unusual.

And my thing too is I often wonder this, that people who are saved that don't want the Holy Spirit or don't want to speak a language or to speak in tongues, I just don't want the Holy Spirit or don't want that to speak a language or to speak in tongues I I just don't understand this for me and I know you'll say well that's different and maybe it maybe it is to you and you can justify it but we as Christians we have no problem in going and learning a foreign

language like going and taking a French class, a Spanish class, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, German. We have we'll learn all of these different languages. Think think it's for our benefit to know them. But then we basically say, I don't want my heavenly language. We don't want the language that God has for us. Like, why would you want the world's languages? But you wouldn't want that God has for us. Like, why would you want the world's languages, but you wouldn't want what God has for you, that special language that he has provided just for you?

Why wouldn't you want that? I don't understand that. I want way more than what heaven has for me versus what the world has for me. This world is not my own. Heaven is. And so for me, I sit there and go, you can have all that. I rather just, I want my heavenly language.

I want what God has to offer me. You can have the rest. But I think what happens is people are afraid to receive what God has for them as far as speaking in tongues. I will tell you that a lot of people are embarrassed to say they have, they speak in tongues, whether it be for the edification of the church or it's their own prayer language. A lot of times people are afraid to say, yeah, I speak in tongues because they're concerned about what the world will think of them. It's an embarrassing thing to, because people think it's a farce, it's a fraud, it's fake. And they don't want to deal with that.

So it's way easier to just look at it and go, yeah, that's weird. Well, you're missing out. And it's all because of being cowardly. And not being willing to look at the scriptures in fullness. And so again, and I'm not saying that in this case, you won't inherit the kingdom of heaven. But I will say that if you're afraid of what others will say, because if you do speak in tongues, you'd rather not have that because you're afraid of what other people will say. Or if you're not willing to share that you speak in that because you're afraid of what other people will say or if you're not willing to share that you speak in tongues because you're afraid of what other people say it's cowardly the cowardly

will not inherit the kingdom of heaven that's what revelation says so if you can't be bold like that what will you be afraid to say in other search circumstances and situations will you be afraid to share salvation with others because you're afraid of their opinion of you and what they'll say? At some point, we're all going to have to stand up and profess and claim our Christianity and our faith. And if you're hiding it,

you'll be held accountable for that. When we go to heaven, we are going to hold an account of the things that we said and did not say and the things that we did and did not do while we were on this earth. And for me, I don't want the Lord to ever say to me, you missed out on that. You should have said that. You should have done that. Because I was too afraid.

So if that's you, be willing to look at yourself honestly and say, am I afraid? Is it because of fear that I don't speak in tongues? Or I don't have the gift of prophecy? Or I don't have the other gifts that God is willing to give to me? Or that I don't win the lost? That I don't, when I walk into the Walmart and there's somebody that's sick and they need healing, that I'm not willing to go over to them

and say, I have the answer for you. Let me share my faith. And then let me lay hands on you and help you to recover. So those things need to be evaluated and then they need to be eradicated out of your life if it's because of fear or are being afraid yeah both of them are the same let's go on to question number nine it said or excuse me question number two not nine you may like what the heck question number two

says i've been watching learning and studying since I found Foundation Church during the pandemic. So you're watching the Hope Hotline. My husband pastors Foundation Church. If you don't have a good church to watch or to attend, I invite you to come to ours. If you're looking for a good church that preaches the gospel, I would strongly suggest you tune in to ours on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. It's Foundation Church. You can watch it on Facebook, blackrobetv.com. So you can tune in to those and check us out. This question is in particular to somebody who watches my husband and the church service. And then my husband also has a podcast. It's the Tom Likely Podcast.

We call it the TLP. It tells you the current events on what's going on in the world. It's a little bit different than mine. He's very passionate. Excellent podcast. Lots of people watch it. It'll keep you up to date on the current events and the real news, not the fake news that we get today.

So you can tune into both of those things. But this person says i found foundation church during the pandemic this is so different from the way i was raised as a seventh day adventist my grandfather was a minister i fell away from the church in my high school years i've always believed i just felt it was not always right what they taught and i felt called to foundation church even though i don't live in flor. I watch podcasts and Sunday church. So my husband podcasts are Tuesday night and Thursday night at 8.30 to 10. And then on Saturdays, he's on CTN TV at 10.30.

And he's also on all the links that are the social media sites that have been presented to you. So it says, even though I don't live in Florida, I watch podcasts on Sunday podcast and Sunday church, and I wanted to find a church like foundation in my area. After some research, I found one similar and have started attending. So good for you. I'm really happy that you're able to go to a church in person. It's super important. It says, I have not yet received the ability to speak in tongues, but I believe it will come. My mother, who was raised Seventh-day Adventist, says that it is of the devil to speak in tongues

because that is what they are taught. How can I explain or help her to understand speaking in tongues is not of the devil? It's not of the devil. So let me just tell you, it's not of the devil. Lots of people do not believe in speaking in tongues until they themselves actually speak in tongues. Like I said, it's happened to a lot of people that I know that did not believe to believe in it. I've, I mean, I've had lots of Baptist friends who did not believe in speaking in tongues. I've, I've even had people who grew up in the Episcopalian, the Methodist,

Presbyterian. My husband was a Catholic, speak in tongues. Sometimes it's happened to them very easily. It wasn't even something they were expecting. It's nothing that comes over and possesses your body, but it just happened. And then other people like me, I did not believe in it at all, even though I grew up in a Pentecostal home.

And then once I did not believe in it at all, even though I grew up in a Pentecostal home. And then once I did want it, I worked really hard because I had to come out of my mind and the misconceptions that I had created in my head, work through that, get in the word and then receive. Super simple. Super hard to get out of your head. Super simple to read the scriptures and to understand that it's real. And then just sitting down, taking the time, prayerfully receiving it. It's not that difficult.

It's just, you know, sometimes you just have to work through what you've created for yourself. So in the previous question, I explained how my husband received it. For me, I literally did not want it. And then I went from wanting it. And like I said, I sat down, went through the scriptures, realized that, again, I was wrong in it. And then I sat down one night at a prayer service at the church I was attending, and I said, I'm not getting out of this pew or getting off this pew until I receive the gift of tongues.

And I prayed for probably an hour. And then all of a sudden, just in my head, what what I heard in my head I started to speak out of my mouth and for some people they receive their language quite quickly and it's a whole lot of words and for me it was just repetitive syllables and once I started to say the syllable just like a child when it receives, like, you know, when children speak, the first words they say normally are dada. I don't think that's by accident, to be honest with you. I think our Heavenly Father, He deserves all the glory for each and every single life that is put on this earth, and we should call Him out when we're first born. So for us to say father as one of our first words,

I don't think that's by accident. So like a child learns da-da mama, that's how my prayer language started out. I heard a couple syllables or a syllable. I basically had to be bold within myself and say, you know what, I'm going to just start saying this syllable. It's not something I've ever heard before or said before. It's never come into my mind before. And I said it and then another one came and then another one came and then another one came. Eventually I had my full prayer language and still to this day sometimes like I learn words and I have words come to me through dictionary learning book reading whatever i learn new words even as i'm 55 i learn new words every day well not every day but pretty frequently

well so my prayer language has grown just like my vocabulary my english vocabulary has grown as well um so that will happen uh so for me i I and my girlfriend, I remember my girlfriend, she went into her prayer closet. She said the same thing. I'm not leaving out of here. She was a Baptist girl. So I'm not leaving here until I get filled. And that's exactly stayed in there for a while. And she just didn't come out until she got her prayer language.

But again, I've known lots of people. They just prayed and boom, it just it just came for them. It's super easy and it was unexpected. So it can either way my daughter didn't believe in it she got filled with the holy spirit speaking in tongues she was open to it my son went to a conference the uh it was an andrew womack conference he was i think 18 17 17, 18 years old. He's not one of these kids that are like an emotional person at all. Went up, said, you know what, I want more of God. The offer came for salvation, which he did not need. And then the gift of speaking in tongues. Went up, was filled with tongues. It just just depends it depends on your personality

depends on where you've put yourself in receiving it but it's for today and it's for everyone acts 2 1 through 13 says come speaks about the coming of the Holy Spirit and this is the day the night of Pente this is the night of Pentecost. When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire,

and one set upon each of them. The one that set upon each of them, Holy Spirit? I don't know. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. So when people say they're filled with the Holy Spirit or their their prayer language is the Holy Spirit prayer language we go back up here and it says in Ephesians 6 18 with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the spirit well if you go back to Acts 2 1 through 13 and they were all

filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance that would tongues would be praying in the spirit some will differ from that or argue with you about it there's no arguing about it when you pray in tongues you're praying in your spirit language and um and it says the crowd's response. So here comes the naysayers. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another,

Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? So all of these people who were praying in the Spirit, filled with tongues, they were all Galileans. They all spoke the same language up to this point. And then there were people who came in and they were like, Wait a minute. I understand what they're saying. They don't speak my language.

They're from Galilee. How are they speaking speak my language. They're from Galilee. How are they speaking in my language? And how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus in Asia, Phrygia and Familia, Egypt and the parts of Libya, adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytites, Cretans and Arabs. We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.

So when these people were speaking in tongues, they were speaking in all these different languages for all these people to be able to understand who were not speaking in tongues. And not only what they were saying, but what they were saying was important because it says they were speaking in their own tongues the wonderful works of God. So when they were interpreting what was being said, it was all things that professed the greatness of God. So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,

whatever could this mean? Others, mocking, said they are full of new wine. So people thought they were drunk. But they weren't drunk on alcohol. They were drunk on the new wine, which is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which is being filled with the Spirit. And the thing is, as I would say to you about that, is I've heard of pastors,

well, I've heard pastors tell stories where they had relatives that were evangelists or something like that, where the evangelist was speaking in tongues, and someone in the congregation was from another country, and the evangelist was speaking in tongues. And while he's speaking in tongues, the person from another country is understanding what he's saying in their native

language they understand what he's saying even though he doesn't know he's speaking their native language or he's speaking let's say the person's from um italy the evangelist doesn't know how to speak italian but there's an Italian in the congregation, and the congregation is understanding what he's saying in Italian. Does that make sense? Okay, so that's what was going on in the upper room at Pentecost. That was going on. People that didn't understand tongues and didn't know,

that just goes to show you that people that were there that may have spoken another language, it wasn't in their language. They didn't receive because they were mocking. They weren't open to understanding what was being spoken in tongues. So for them, they didn't understand what was being said. It sounded like gobbledygook to them. But to others who were open,

they understood what was being said. And it seemed like it was in their own language. It might have been, or it might have been the Holy Spirit making it for them to understand. And it may have appeared that it was in their own language. Paul said, 1 Corinthians 14, 18 says, I thank God that I speak in unknown tongues more than all of you, which is what we started out with. And the reason he said that after we've looked at all this is because of the power of speaking in tongues

and the power of what it can do for people who are present, who might not be filled, but they might understand, and it's more profound for them. It's like when a healing or a miracle takes place. Jesus performed miracles because of the power that came with it so that he could win the lost. Instead of just with wise and persuasive words, Paul says, I come with the Spirit's power that comes through tongues,

that comes through healings, that comes through prophecy, things like that. We want power. So if you want power, be open to all that God has and the Holy Spirit has for you. Ephesians 16, 18 says, Pray in the Spirit, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Always praying in the Spirit. So you're to pray in tongues all the time.

I do. I pray all the time in tongues. It's way better than praying in English. The devil can't understand it, and that's one of the reasons why. And the scripture says to do it. So, that's why I do it. Now, some say, well, some say, well, that tongues was done away with.

So I don't believe in it, and you shouldn't believe in it, and so that might be why your mother says it's of the devil or whatever. But 1 Corinthians 13, 8 through 10 says, Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. Whether there is knowledge it will vanish away now that's where they stop right there but whether there are prophecies

they will fail whether there are tongues they will cease whether there is knowledge it will vanish away for we know in part and we prophesy in part. That's where they stop. But that scripture is not done yet. You got to keep reading. It's 8 through 10, not 8 and 9. It says, but when that which is perfect has come. What is that that's coming that's perfect? There's only one being that's perfect that will return. And that's Jesus Christ.

But when that which perfect that will return, and that's Jesus Christ. Okay? But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away with. Has Jesus returned? No, he has not. So tongues, prophecy, anything that people say was for that time, even people say healing is done away with. Not true. They say healing was for biblical times

or was for that time and that era. That's not true. If Jesus hasn't returned, which he has not, then tongues hasn't departed. It's still for today. You still can do it. It's still available to you. And the Holy Spirit wants each and every single one of us

to have our own prayer language. Some people will say, well, it's not for everybody. No, no, no. The gift of tongues for the body of Christ is a gift. And it's not necessarily everyone will have that gift. But your heavenly prayer language is for every single person. Every single person has their own prayer language and it's offered to each for every single person every single person has their own prayer language and it's offered to each and every single one of us and each and every single

one of us should be seeking it desiring it and wanting it because jesus hasn't come back yet so it's not been done away with it's for each and every single one each and every single one of us um so tongues like salvation is open to everyone it's whether or not you're willing to receive it salvation's not pushed down anybody's throat jesus is a gentleman the holy spirit is a gentleman god is a gentleman it's all choices we're all given a choice. It's whether or not we want to receive it. They're gentlemen. No one will push. The Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus don't push themselves on us. They just stand and they wait. And it's up to us whether or not we say, come on in. We want all that you have for us. So I would strongly encourage you, don't listen to people.

Listen to the word and go after it. I'm telling you 100% from personal experience, once you receive the gift of tongues, it will radically change you. You will be bold as a lion. It will take you places that you never thought spiritually speaking in your prayer life it's beyond what anything you could imagine i encourage you to get it next question i sing in a 70s and 80s classic rock band i am torn as to whether i should quit it or not i'm not sure who that is i'm not sure who that is viewed by or how.

Excuse me. I'm not sure how that is viewed by our God. I do make money in the band, and I do tithe off of that money as well as my full-time day job. How can I know if I should quit? I've asked God to lead me to that decision, but nothing has transpired for me yet. Well, okay. People don't freak out on me, okay? Like, people freak out over rock music. It's ridiculous.

I mean, I don't really listen to secular music, really, to be honest with you. I have, as a Christian, I've listened to secular music to really to be honest with you um i have as a christian i've listened to secular music um but i don't think it's the world's worst thing for people to listen to it it's not heaven and hell it doesn't say in the bible if you do these things and one of them is listen to non-christian music that you're going to help do i I think it's the wisest? No, because I think it plants seeds in your mind. I think that I don't think we're to think on things above. Do I think that secular music helps that? No, I don't.

But I don't think that singing in a 70s, 80s rock band is a heaven and hell issue. And I don't think that it's something that is the worst thing ever. I just don't. I don't think it's a sin. I think it's one of those things that you need to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. If you're feeling convicted,

then I would check that out. If you're feeling convicted, again, that goes to working out your own salvation with fear and trembling. If you're feeling convicted, there's a reason why the Holy Spirit is making you feel convicted over it, if that's the case. And if that's the case,

then you need to seriously think about whether or not you should do it, why that is. Maybe it's not so much the music. Maybe God wants to remove you out of that situation because he wants to use you in a way different way. Maybe instead of being in a rock band, you're supposed to be on a worship team maybe your gifts and talents that he's provided for you should be used in a way better way for him everybody's got a gift that god's given them every single person we're all called it doesn't say only the special people are called no the word says everybody is called i will say this. People are given talents. And whether they use them for Him or not is up to them. There are people who are exceptionally smart.

And they should be using their intellect for the Lord. Instead, they use it for the world. The thing is, the word is clear. Our gifts and talents are irrevocable. So just because you don't use them for him, doesn't mean he's going to take them from you. If you look at these people who are very talented, musically speaking, they sing unbelievable.

God gave them that voice for them to sing to him not to sing to the world and sing um songs that do not um yeah thank you that's a great word it took that um they don't glorify him um instead they're things that are inappropriate and they shouldn't be being sung about. So, I mean, they'll answer for that. But I'm just saying that when he created them with that talent, that talent was created so that they would sing to him. It's just like Satan, the devil, Lucifer. He was a fallen angel.

What was he? He was a musician. He was the best. He was like outside of God. He was a fallen angel. What was he? He was a musician. He was the best. He was like outside of God. He was number two. So and what happened with him is because he became so self-absorbed, he didn't appreciate the gift and talent that was given to him. So he decided he would use it for his own good. And he wanted to be worshipped instead of worshipping God. And that's what happens. People choose not to use the talents that God's given them,

and they use it for the world. They use it for sin. They use it to propagate more of what the devil has. But truly, that gift was strictly to be used to glorify God, just like when Lucifer was given the talent and he chose not to. The gift and talent is irrevocable. It's just like some people are great speakers.

They choose to be a motivational speaker and tell people about how great they can become or how much money they can make if they sell things and all this other stuff. When really, God gave them that gift of speaking to be used for him to preach the gospel to win the loss to disciple believers it's really up to you what you use that gift and talent for that god's designed you to to have um so for me like

you can stay in the rock band i know that's probably some people are like click turn me off uh they they don't agree with that but where in the where in the scriptures does it say that she won't or he won't go to heaven if they stay in this band it doesn't um is it the wisest thing is it the best thing no um but until you feel like that's something you you're not supposed to do, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. But also, if you feel convicted, like I said, quit. Create your own Christian band or join a worship team and use your gifts and talents for Him. That's what I would do.

And use the money that you make to win the lost. If you start your own Christian band, I mean, you never know where God will take you with that. And you can take the money that you make through the earnings of the band, and you're already paying the tithing offering from the 70s rock band. You'll do the same thing with the Christian band. So that is a good thing. So that's it for the questions.

Like I've said, well, not 100 times hundred times uh what podcast is this number four um i will not close out a podcast without offering salvation to anyone and everyone that's watching if you do not know jesus as your lord and savior i want to give you the opportunity because there is no greater decision that you could possibly make while you're on this earth than to choose him he died so that you might have life and have it more abundantly why have less than you deserve

Jesus paid a great price on the cross when he died on that cross he paid the greatest price he was a perfect being he never did one sin Jesus paid a great price on the cross. When he died on that cross, he paid the greatest price. He was a perfect being. He never did one sin. Yet he walked this earth, came from heaven to earth as a child or as a baby. And at the age of 30, he began to walk out ministry.

At 33, he gave up his life so that you and I could have life and life more abundantly, as I've already said. When he died on that cross, he paid the price for three things. He paid the price for your salvation so that when you die, you could go to heaven and be with him. Two, so that healing, he bore stripes on his back so that you could have healing, that if anything comes against you, sickness or disease, you're healed and you do not have to die of that sickness or disease. And lastly, he became poor so that you might be rich so that you don't have to live in a poverty mindset or a poverty lifestyle. Those three things are yours and they're ready for the taking.

All you have to do is receive him as your Lord and Savior. So I would love to give you the opportunity to take that up today. And if you are interested or you're feeling it out keep watching the podcast and hopefully your heart and mind will be open but for those of you who said yeah I'm ready to receive yeah I want to get my life right some of you might have been saved but you've walked away and you're like you know what I got to get back I've been there I got to get back life is just not there. I've got to get back. Life is just not the same. It's not even close to the same without having him in my life.

I offer this opportunity to you today. And it's as simple as saying, pray this prayer with me. Lord, I ask you to come into my heart. I ask you to be my Lord and Savior. I ask you to forgive me of my sin. And when I die, I will go to heaven and live with you forever. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. It's done. It's simple. You're golden.

It's that easy. The other thing I don't want to ever happen is for you to not know the gift of giving. A lot of people don't pay tithe and offering because they're like a poverty mindset. They sit there and go, I don't have enough to pay my bills, so I'm barely making it and I'm definitely not gonna be able to give. But I would suggest to you that that is the wrong mindset.

If you need something, the thing that you need to do right now is give I would say give to a place that you get fed like I said our church we have a foundation church you can give to our church or you can give to the river which is where we also give or to revival revival today ministries give when you give make sure you're giving to a place that actually will use the money and are doing something for the Lord.

Don't just give to anybody. That's a big mistake. But make sure you're giving to a place that puts it back into what is responsible. Okay? So what I'm going to tell you is this. I grew up in a faith-based home. Like I've told you,

my parents never were in debt, ever. They, it's not that we had a lot, but we had what we needed. It says that he'll meet every need. And we did. Every need was met.

But I will tell you, there were times that because my parents paid tithe in offering, that there were things that miraculously just happened that should have never happened you the word is is clear but I will tell you that I've heard stories where people didn't have money to that gave their tithe and offering they didn't have money to go out and buy groceries but the boat but they had a box of cereal that never ran out you'll say no that's not possible that's crazy i'm telling you these people will die to this story

that their box of cereal never ran out but the bible talks about where uh vats of oil never never vats of oil never ran out things like that. So what God did back in biblical times, he'll still do today. But my parents love to tell the story about, we live in Florida. So our family lived in Lakeland, northern Lakeland, and my grandparents lived in Fort Myers. So we had gone to visit my grandparents and we were headed back to Lakeland.

My parents decided to go through a town called Arcadia. So you would take Fort Myers back. At this time, we didn't have I-75 or anything like that. So you could go these different highways, still back roads and stuff like that, but they're not like the highway. So they decided to go through arcadia arcadia had a like a really great burger joint and we all loved it so they stopped at the burger joint we got to arcadia and the gas um our our gas tank was on e so my parents were like

we're gonna have to find gas somewhere um so we'll just hit a gas station along the way home well on the way home no gas stations were open so they couldn't get gas we were already at e and we weren't even like at e where you had another 30 miles we were at e where you're on fumes and you shouldn't be able to go any longer my parents prayed and we not only we we made it from Arcadia which Arcadia to northern uh let's see can somebody look up to me look up for me Arcadia to Kathleen which is right northern side of Lakeland that's Polk County if I were to guess it is probably back in the day, Arcadia to there, it's probably 70 miles. It's an hour and 30 minutes. I knew it was pretty far.

So we went on fumes. It's not possible. We went all the way from Arcadia to northern Lakeland. Kathleen is where our home was. So 70 miles on fumes. Guys, it's not possible. It doesn't happen. You give and it will be given to you.

Pressed down, shaken together and pouring over. Our gas tank was on E. But miraculously, God made it so that we pulled into our driveway on fumes. It shouldn't have happened. But with God, all things are possible. So I strongly encourage you, if you don't give and you want to see the miraculous happen in your finances, I have had family members who have a certain amount of income.

They still give and pay their offering, tithe and offering. They don't just give their tithe of 10 they give an offering and it's usually substantial because of they give to missions and stuff it should have made no sense that they made it through the whole year because they didn't make enough to even pay their offering not only did they have that they had over an abundance from their wages the numbers didn't add up but with again it doesn't matter with God he is miraculous he will take your income and supernaturally multiply it for you so what I want you to do if you're toying around with giving what I want you to do, if you're toying around with giving, what I want you to do is give to the three ministries that I told you. Either us, Revival Today out of Pittsburgh, PA, or I think it's Harrisburg, or the river out of Tampa.

Give to one of those three ministries. Everybody that I've ever challenged within the first week has seen God do something. I'm not kidding. They've either seen a pay raise. They've seen a promotion. They've seen a check come in the mail. They've gotten a new car, miraculous.

I've never not seen somebody within the first week or so have a story that blew their mind. And it spurred them on because God says, test me in this. It's the only place that God says test me is in giving. So I would tell you, give it a shot. See what happens. And if in three months you want to give up giving because it ain't working for you, so be it. But I bet you you'll never stop giving after you see what God does with your finances by being obedient and just trusting and testing him. Amen.

I look forward to you coming. Let's see. Today is Friday. Have a great weekend. I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday for another hour. Have the time of your life, but make sure you're in church on Sunday. Find a good church or watch us live on Sunday morning, 10 a.m. Foundation Church. Have a great day.